


Cinnamon and Certainty

by stopmopingstarthoping



Series: Lucis Military Academy [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Military, Motorcycles, Pre-Canon, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14310165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stopmopingstarthoping/pseuds/stopmopingstarthoping
Summary: Aranea and Crowe share a day together.





	Cinnamon and Certainty

Aranea heard the motorcycle out front, and tried not to smile as Jenner and Salix hooted and teased her.  She headed out past the front security doors and saw Crowe lift off her helmet and walk up to the door.

Crowe peeked past her. “So that’s Archaean, huh? Nice.”

Aranea shrugged. “It’s a dorm.  Nice as they get. Thanks for picking me up.”

“You’re lucky. They ran out of space - lots of the first years couldn’t get dorm rooms.  I’m renting a room in a house and it’s _weird_.”

Aranea felt momentarily guilty for the single room she had.  She was a senior, after all, and one of the privileges upperclassmen had was to be able to sign up early for rooms.  She did share a bathroom, but still, she felt a little bad that so many seniors roomed alone when new kids had to go grub for housing.

Aranea rolled her eyes.  “Tell me about it. With all the new students, you’d think it would kill them to build another dorm.  Though I’m not sure what they’d call it, given that the names of the Six are already taken by all the buildings around here.  How’s your place weird?”

Crowe smirked.  “What, like they can’t just build Glacian II so my sorry ass can stop eating instant noodles four nights a week?  The lady that owns the house _hates_ me, and is a super tyrant about anything in the common areas, so I’m basically stuck to my room most of the time.  When I’m not in class. Which is a lot.” She looked at Aranea. “ _You_ know.”

Aranea nodded.  The first-year workload was rough, and started early in the morning - tough to adjust to for kids who weren’t already used to military training.  She honestly wasn’t entirely sure how Crowe was managing it with a part-time job.

“Love your bike.  Ready?”

Crowe stroked the battered orange surface lovingly.  “Thanks. Yeah, let’s roll.”

Aranea let Crowe settle herself before swinging a leg over and sitting down behind her. Aranea wasn’t quite sure how close to nestle herself behind Crowe, but she went ahead and circled her waist lightly with her arms.  As the bike took off, swooping around the turns, Aranea thrilled to the crisp air on her skin. Crowe was decent at handling a motorcycle, and Aranea relaxed into enjoying the scenery and the ride. The leather of Crowe’s jacket mixed with the scent of leaves in her nose.  She was almost disappointed when Crowe pulled into one of the angled parking spots in the market district downtown.

“So what do you need to get?”

“I gotta little bit of a list.  There’s all this stuff you run into, that’s not on the supply sheets they give you to begin with.”  

Aranea nodded.  “OK, where first?”  She was happy just to have an excuse to walk around and talk with Crowe.  She watched the other woman’s face as they traded banter and unfolded some of the little pieces of who they were to one another.  She was beautiful, and it wasn’t just the sassy tilt of her head, the waves of dark hair, or the brown eyes she could get lost in.  She was fierce, and silly, and energetic, and clever, and holy Shiva, Aranea was falling fast.

And by the sideways glances, the little smiles, and excuses to grab her arm, Aranea guessed that similar thoughts might be crossing Crowe’s mind as well.  She'd laughed a lot today, often at shit that wasn't even that funny. They’d visited a few shops, and Crowe had picked up the odds and ends she’d mentioned - extra carabiner clips, potions, hand wraps, ice and heat packs, and a few extra pieces of training gear.

Aranea was the first to bring up food, as usual.  “I’m hungry. You wanna get some lunch?” The smell of the food stalls had made her stomach rumble.

“Yes.  Kabobs?”

“Perfect.”

They bought some sweet, sticky roasted meat and a perfect fall cider from a couple of the market stands.  The two of them continued walking, chewing and gesturing around mouthfuls as they walked. They stopped on a pedestrian bridge for a while, watching cars go by underneath.

"You've got some -"  Aranea motioned to her own face and pointed at Crowe.

Crowe rubbed at the wrong spot.

"No, further to the left.  Hold on."

Aranea stepped in front of Crowe and wiped the smear with her thumb, then kept her hand on Crowe’s jaw and tilted her face up.

"Can I kiss you?"

Crowe smirked. "Smooth. You plan that?"

Aranea grinned back. "Couldn't have predicted how messy you are. You gonna leave me hanging here or what?"

Crowe looked up at her, tucking a strand of silvery hair away from her face. "Maybe just for a minute.  You're pretty cute when you're flustered." She reached up and gently touched her lips to Aranea's. She tasted like burnt kabob and spiced apples.  Aranea leaned in for a slightly longer kiss, enjoying the feel of Crowe’s lips.

She smiled at her, then flicked her lashes down and grabbed Crowe’s hand.  “Let’s go check out the view of the Citadel. Also, I want to hear more about Galahd.  You were telling me about the food?”

Crowe let Aranea lead her, and they continued to walk and talk, until the light grew dim and they climbed back on the bike to head back toward campus.  Aranea’s grip grew bolder on the return trip, and she was pleasantly surprised by a soft thigh pat at one of the stoplights on the way out of town. Aranea breathed in, and she felt wrapped in the glow of the lights of the vehicles around them and the stars above.  She wanted to freeze this moment and keep it somewhere safe.

When Crowe pulled up in front of Archaean Hall again, Aranea was equal parts nervous and disappointed. She very much wanted a repeat of the kiss earlier, and she didn’t want to mess it up.  She also didn’t want the night to end. She noticed Crowe standing behind her as she shook her hair out.

“You checking out my ass back there?”

“You got a problem with that?”  Crowe’s tone was so affectionate and teasing, it took any bluster out of the words.  She stepped in front of Aranea and grasped her hips lightly. In a smooth flow of motion, she pulled Aranea to her and kissed her again, and Aranea tingled.  She opened her mouth a little just as Crowe tentatively licked at her lip, and they deepened the kiss. Their tongues questioned a bit before eagerly playing past each other, and each one felt the other smile when they finally pulled away.

“Thanks for coming with me today.”  Crowe’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled up at Aranea.

“Thanks for asking.”  Aranea grinned as she reached around to Crowe’s back pocket to grab her phone, put in her number, and hand it back.  Crowe startled, then laughed, and turned to settle her helmet back on. Aranea watched her leave, and let out a contented sigh into the cool night.

As she walked back through the main doors, Aranea realized that her suitemates had been watching at the window.  When she finally let herself back into the suite, Jenner was fist-pumping and Salix was hooting and running around the room.  

“You guys are ridiculous, you know that?’

“We’re just happy for you, you big dumbass!”

She shook her head and punched the nearest arm she could reach, but Aranea’s smile showed no signs of disappearing, even as she stared up at the ceiling to fall asleep that night.


End file.
